4 weight loss myths not to fall for

It’s amazing but every year Americans will spend $60 billion dollars on weight loss books, gym memberships, apps, programs and other means to reach a certain body weight.  Too many of us are jumping onto weight loss bandwagons that are headed on the road to weight loss failure.  Don’t be the victim of falling into the pit of a weight loss diet promising you the moon when in reality you get stuck on earth still weighted down. 

There are many, many diets for weight loss out there.  Some can be quite good but others, not the case.  Here are 4 weight loss myths associated with certain diets that claim to be the one and only way for achieving permanent weight loss.  They may sound convincing but be careful not to be trapped in a way of thinking that has little to no scientific evidence backing them up:

1.  Juicing

Juicing has become very popular in recent years.  From juice stores popping up to expensive juice blenders being sold, this diet fad has taken the dieting world by storm.  But juicing is not a preferred weight loss strategy.  Why?  Because replacing meals with juice isn’t a sustainable habit.  When fruits and vegetables are juiced, components such as fiber are lost, but the simple sugars found naturally in the produce remain.  Drinking the equivalent of five fruits is not the same as eating those five fruits.  An important factor making juicing problematic is that it eliminates the chewing process, making overconsumption easier.  Consider the fact that drinking 500 calories does not provide the same satiety as eating 500 whole food calories.

2.  Fasting is necessary for weight loss

One of the newer trends in the weight loss world is fasting or intermittent fasting.  Fasting is defined as abstaining from all food usually for at least an entire day or two. These gimmicky diets have long been disproven as a way for successful weight loss as most individuals eventually get quite “hangry” and return to the eating habits that caused the weight gain to begin with. 

Intermittent fasting is similar to fasting but done in a more strategic way.  It involves cycling between periods of regular eating and fasting, during which you severely restrict your calorie intake or don’t consume any food at all.  A person who practices intermittent fasting has made a conscious effort to eat only at certain periods of the day.  It may help a person learn hunger cues, but there is not enough research to know if this works in the long-term.  Anyone thinking of trying a fasting system for preventive reasons should have a doctor involved.  There are many factors that must be considered such as a person’s current diet, or if they have diabetes or a metabolic disorder. 

Also the long-term effects of fasting diets are not well understood.  Much of the research on the topic has been done only during short time frames with most of the studies conducted from animal research. 

3.  What works for one person works for others

Anyone who has gone on a weight loss diet and was successful is usually more than willing to convince you to try the same.  There are so many weight loss diets out there that it can be very confusing sorting out the good from the very bad.  It’s important to remember what worked for your neighbor, may not work for you.  For those who have had good weight loss results, some of it often comes from many important changes they have made or an excellent support system they have in place that can greatly influence success beyond simple diet strategies.  If you are a person who finds change very hard to do or lack positive, supportive people in your life to cheer you on, then attempting weight loss may be much more difficult. 

4.  Magical fat-burning foods

Sorry to burst any weight loss bubbles, but there is no one food that waves a magic wand significantly increasing metabolism or triggering fat burning.  One of the things making the weight loss industry so appealing is that it wants to sell the secret to losing weight to be based on foods with certain fat-burning abilities.  They will make promises such as drink this drink or eat this certain food and your weight will drop off effortlessly. To be successful at weight loss, it takes time and effort.  Most people wanted the excess weight off yesterday but forget that obesity happens one pound at a time and so does preventing it.  Only by changing lifestyle habits involving the overall pattern of eating and adding in more movement each day does a noticeable and more sustainable change occur in a person’s body weight.